Push-pull cables have been used for producing mechanical movement from a position remote to the location where the mechanical movement is desired. The most notable example of such a device is the cable control on a power lawn mower to control gas flow to the engine. Such cables have an inner wire portion which is able to move within an outer tubular portion. The outer portion is fixed in a relatively stationary position with the wire portion attached for longitudinal movement within the tubular portion. One end of the wire is connected to a lever on the handle of the mower for manual operation. The other end is attached to the device over which control is desired. In a lawn mower, the device is usually a valve in the carburetor. In this manner, movement of the lever causes movement of the wire at the other end of the cable which ultimately produces a corresponding movemenet in the carburetor for controlling flow of gas to the engine. Thus, control over the mower is had from a position remote from the mower itself.
Heretofore, these cables have been made of metallic materials which are electrically conductive. Manually operated electrically conductive cables produce an unsafe situation for the operator who is subjected to an electrical potential. Where the potential is of sufficient magnitude, this matallic cable provides a path for any electric current produced by the potential thereby causing electrocution of the operator in contact with the cable.